All eyes will be on Munetaka Murakami after 2025 season |
While 2025 hasn't even started yet, and the bulk of the 2024 MLB offseason has yet to take off, all eyes could be shifting to 2026 as one of the biggest International Stars has announced that he is setting his sights on the MLB for 2026. As is the case, more often than not, this player hails from the NPB and has put together quite a career in Japan so far.
According to the man himself, 24-year-old Japanese OF Munetaka Murakami has announced that the 2025 season will be his last in Japan as he intends to come to the MLB in 2026. Given his age and years of service time, this follows a similar pattern to Roki Sasaki, who is going to be one of the more highly coveted MLB free agents this season. A little background on Murakami and what could make him valuable to the Cubs and any team. Well, for starters, he is an OF who can DH, but is a left-handed power bat. Looking at the Cubs lineup, they don't have much left-handed power, so to add someone at such a young age with left-handed power would be huge for this organization. A .270 career hitter, Murakami became the fastest player in NPB history to reach 200 career homers and now has 241 career home runs to go with 670 RBIs in six years of professional action. Murakami is a two-time MVP and three-time home run champ and has been in the running for multiple triple-crown awards. After hitting 36 homers in his first three seasons, with 35 coming in his first two seasons, Murakami made some tweaks at the plate and has since turned his career around. He has hit at least 28 homers in each of the past five seasons, including a 56-homer, 134-RBI campaign in 2022, during which he also hit .318. Murakami also took 106 walks that season compared to 133 strikeouts and was considered the Barry Bonds of Japan that year. In the two years since Murakami has gone about his business and has continued to be the best-run producer in the NPB. He followed his massive 2022 by hitting 31 homers in 2023 and 33 homers this past season. Although his run production is way down, as he hasn't topped 87 RBIs since that season, most of his homers have been solo shots, which can't be held against him. The biggest concern over the past two seasons has been his massive decline in average, as he hit .253 in 2023 and followed that up with .244 last season. His strikeout numbers have also increased, as he had 180 punchouts in 2024, but he still took 105 walks, and his eye for the plate is just as good as it has been. Given that he broke out as quickly as he did, only to slump a bit the past two seasons, some would urge caution when signing him, but the bat can't be ignored. Given what Sasaki did to get out of his contract early this offseason, many expect Murakami to do the same, which will drastically help many MLB teams pursue him next season. Instead of the Normal NPB posting rules, where you have to pay a portion of the player's salary back to Japan, Murakami is expected to enter the league as an International Free Agent, allowing teams to sign him for much cheaper. Instead of potentially paying him 20-plus million per season for the length of his contract, you're now looking at a guy who will get 7-10 million for the duration of his first contract, as it will be a Minor League deal. Now, that doesn't mean that he will be in the minors forever; it does allow more teams, including the Cubs, the opportunity to make a run at him. Big market team or not, the Cubs haven't acted like one for years, and barring a sudden shift from their current course, that won't be happening either. That is why adding Sasaki this offseason and potentially Murakami next season is so crucial for this team. Those additions would not only give the Cubs an ACE to build around for years, but they would also add a middle-of-the-lineup power bat for next to nothing. How could you not want that as a front office, especially knowing that Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki will be gone within a year or two? Murakami's decision to go the free agent route instead of the normal posting is the best thing that could've happened to the Cubs, as they will be doing a lot of scouting on him this season.
